Words of appreciation
A nonprofit newsroom near you
Embedded into the decision to start an online publication (rather than a private journal) is my desire to help shorten the distance between intention and action, for more than just myself.
So for example when I share my choice to make (or increase) a monthly contribution to a local or statewide news organization, I can also take a moment to point to a resource where you might find a nonprofit news organization in your state or local community.
Thank you for reading (and sharing)! I appreciate you, and will work to make this useful.
One thing today
This week was the first time that I and the six leads who report to me had ever been together in real life. On the third and final day of our in-person work gathering, I invited them to join me for a moment of reflection.
But as happens with many of our lives’ peak moments—our weddings, our memorials, our milestone birthdays—at the last minute not everyone ended up being able to make it. We missed our chance to be together in a room by ourselves, or to capture a single photo with all of us.
I had also failed to deliver on my own intentions. I had purchased for each of my leads a blank journal, constructed from a vintage hardcover book by a local artist. I had imagined that I would have sat and written a message of appreciation and gratitude to each lead inside the cover, as I had received from leads and teachers in my life in the past.
But in the wake of the election, the time I might have had to write these notes I used instead creating this online project.
So yesterday morning the journals were still blank, and I spoke my words of appreciation aloud to those with me in the room. Those words were in the neighborhood of this:
To Florence, whose strength as an empathetic and compassionate sounding board for her team makes her team feel always supported. She inspires me to keep listening better.
To Ani, whose approach to building teams that learn and grow in real time together has changed my own ways of leading.
To Karen, whose resilience seems boundless, as I watch her turn setbacks into success again and again and again. She inspires me to never stop trying.
To Anand, who continues to ask challenging, principled questions, in large meetings and at inconvenient times, in ways that invite thoughtful discussion, rather than argument. He is so much better at this at me, and I aspire to be more like him.
And to Amy, one of the most remarkable leaders I have had the pleasure of working with in my career. While she reports to me at present, I hope that she will one day hire me to come work for her.
We talk about times of uncertainty, but when we are being honest with ourselves we understand that we mean always. None of us knows for certain that we will make it into next week.
In our newest era of uncertainty, I will invite you to take any opportunity you can to speak your words of appreciation aloud—to those who work for and with you, to those who inspire you, to the people that you love.
Take all of the opportunities. Always.
All of the @#$%ing things
Night 7: Contributed to a California-focused nonprofit newsroom
Night 6: Made homemade donuts for my team
Night 5: Opted into a paid Buttondown tier
Night 4: Reviewed my local election results
Night 3: Deactivated my X account
Night 2: Contributed to my local nonprofit newsroom
Night 1: Started by starting
Words, sorts, and thinks by Chris Ereneta, from Oakland, California. Thoughtful feedback and questions are welcomed at that.often@gmail.com